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Mass General Brigham PANS/PANDAS doctor to leave as program closes

Mass General Brigham PANS/PANDAS doctor to leave as program closes

Built World Boston, MA local

Dr. Kyle Williams leaves Dec. 31, and families say Mass General Brigham's list of alternatives is not continuity of care.

November 2nd, 2026: Treating psychiatrist to leave

Overview

Updated 4 days ago

Mass General Brigham will close its PANS/PANDAS program on Jan. 1, 2027, and Dr. Kyle Williams, one of the few psychiatrists there who treats the condition, will leave Dec. 31. The hospital system confirmed his departure after telling patients in a message that it later said was sent in error.

The program began in 2013 and had logged more than 3,000 patient visits by 2024, according to a fundraising email the Boston Globe obtained. The Globe describes it as one of the few multidisciplinary clinics of its kind in the country. Jennifer Vitelli of the Look. Foundation said the list of alternative providers MGB gave families is not continuity of care.

Why it matters

Families whose children develop sudden, severe psychiatric symptoms after an infection lose the region's coordinated clinic and one of its few specialists.

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Key Indicators

2013
Year the program began
Mass General Brigham's PANS/PANDAS program has run for more than a decade.
3,000+
Patient visits logged by 2024
Figure comes from a fundraising email the Boston Globe obtained.
1,500+
New patient evaluations by 2024
Same fundraising email, as reported by the Globe.
One of few
Multidisciplinary PANS/PANDAS clinics nationwide
The Boston Globe describes the program as one of the few of its kind in the country.

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People Involved

DW
Dr. Kyle Williams
Psychiatrist at Mass General Brigham treating pediatric PANS/PANDAS patients
Leaving Mass General Brigham on Dec. 31
JV
Jennifer Vitelli
Executive director of the Look. Foundation
Criticized Mass General Brigham's alternative care list

Organizations Involved

Mass General Brigham
Mass General Brigham
Nonprofit health system
Closing its PANS/PANDAS program on Jan. 1, 2027

A Massachusetts hospital system and the operator of the PANS/PANDAS program now being wound down.
MA
Massachusetts PANDAS/PANS Advisory Council
State advisory body
Asked state officials in October to review the closure and transition plan

A council housed in the state Department of Public Health that advises on PANDAS and PANS policy.
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
State agency
Received a letter from advocates asking for an independent review of the closure

The state's top law enforcement office, which advocates asked to review whether the closure amounts to patient abandonment.
PANDAS Physicians Network
PANDAS Physicians Network
Clinician network
A clinician network focused on PANDAS and PANS

A network of clinicians that maintains a list of multidisciplinary PANDAS/PANS clinics.
LF
Look. Foundation
Advocacy group
Asked the attorney general to review the closure

A Massachusetts-based advocacy group for families affected by PANS and PANDAS.

Timeline

2013 November 2026

7 events Latest: November 2nd, 2026 · 1 week ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Treating psychiatrist to leave

    Latest Personnel

    Boston.com reports Dr. Kyle Williams will leave the hospital system at the end of the year.

  2. MGB says patient notice was sent in error

    Statement

    Mass General Brigham says the message telling patients Williams would leave did not accurately reflect its continuity-of-care plans, but confirms he will leave Dec. 31.

  3. Advocates send letter to attorney general

    Legal

    A Massachusetts-based PANS/PANDAS advocacy group sends a letter asking for an independent review of the closure and raising concerns about patient abandonment.

  4. State advisory council requests review

    Oversight

    The PANDAS/PANS Advisory Council sends a five-page letter to the state health commissioner asking for a review of the closure and transition plan.

  5. Hospital system announces closure

    Closure

    Mass General Brigham says it will end the program at the end of the year, citing a lack of multidisciplinary services.

  6. Program logs 3,000-plus visits

    Milestone

    A fundraising email obtained by the Boston Globe says the program had completed more than 1,500 new patient evaluations.

  7. Program opens

    Program launch

    Mass General Brigham begins offering coordinated psychiatric and medical care for children with PANS and PANDAS.

Scenarios

1

Program closes on schedule with no replacement clinic

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Patient families and advocates quoted in Boston-area coverage

The program stops seeing patients at the end of 2026 and current patients are routed to general child psychiatry, infectious disease and primary care. No Massachusetts health system opens a comparable multidisciplinary clinic, and families travel out of state or pay out of pocket.

2

State review forces a delay or a written transition plan

Possible Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Massachusetts PANDAS/PANS Advisory Council and patient advocates

The attorney general's office or the Department of Public Health opens a formal review of the closure, prompting the hospital system to extend the timeline or commit to a documented handoff for each patient. Advocates have asked for exactly this.

3

Williams keeps treating PANS/PANDAS patients elsewhere

Uncertain Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Families following the departure, per Boston.com

Williams joins another hospital, health system or private practice that lets him keep seeing PANS/PANDAS patients, giving some families a place to follow him. Whether insurance covers the new setting is a separate question.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2024

Steward Health Care hospital closures in Massachusetts (2024)

Steward Health Care, a for-profit hospital chain, filed for bankruptcy in 2024. Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer closed on Aug. 31 after no buyers emerged, and patients in those areas lost their nearest emergency rooms.

Then

State officials helped place workers and redirect patients, but the communities lost nearby emergency care.

Now

The episode sharpened Massachusetts scrutiny of who owns hospitals and how closures are announced and managed.

Why this matters now

It shows how state agencies in Massachusetts respond when a provider exits, and how much of the burden falls on patients to find new care.

2019

Hahnemann University Hospital closure (2019)

Hahnemann, a teaching hospital in downtown Philadelphia, closed in 2019 after its owner's bankruptcy. Hundreds of medical residents had to find new training programs mid-course, and patients scattered to other hospitals.

Then

Residents and staff scrambled for placements; nearby systems absorbed some services.

Now

The closure became a case study in what is lost when a training and care pipeline shuts down quickly: the people, not just the building, have to relocate.

Why this matters now

A specialty program closing does the same thing at smaller scale: the patients and the one doctor who knows their condition both have to find somewhere else to go.

Sources

(3)
Boston.com The Minds Journal The Boston Globe